TDM
Cannon
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Wow. Did not know that.
Any chance we'll see powder from Goex in 2023 ?
- Thread starter kyron4
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Black powder is also used in fireworks and in blasting some rock in quarries. When I bought a case of Swiss last year from a distributor he was telling me that he also sells to fireworks manufacturers and to VA Tech. They use it to blast rock to build some of their buildings
Demolition fuses also use black powder.You'd be amazed at how much they use and it isn't for "guns". It's used in all manner of munitions, rocket components, artillery primers, ejection seat ignitors and that just scratches the surface. Make no mistake here, the civilian market is nowhere near as large as Uncle Sam and he has a bottomless wallet
Jim in Wisconsin
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It doesn't seem like black powder is at all similar to the stuff that is in Estes model rockets. The charge in them doesn't go bang - at least you hope it doesn't! It goes fizzz and takes a long time to burn up a little cylinder the size of your thumb.
If black powder isn't going to be available in local shops, and substitute powders are - that's what I'm going to use. I don't like that so much, but that's just the way the world is going.
If black powder isn't going to be available in local shops, and substitute powders are - that's what I'm going to use. I don't like that so much, but that's just the way the world is going.
Comfortably_Numb
The Evil Mike Brooks
You can have real black powder shipped right to your door.
TDM
Cannon
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That's a good idea.
satwel
40 Cal.
FWIW. Last August I was in a gun store in NH that sells black powder. The owner told me his powder distributor told him to plan for Goex deliveries in the Summer of 2023.
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Estes Rocket engines were largely made from Goex powder. It was more of a matter of survival for them. I'm guessing it was a less expensive and more timely route to take to buy the Goex plant and put in the needed upgrades than dance thru the hoops and the extended time to relocate and build a new plant somewhere.
DixieTexian
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It is. In fact, there are websites out there that sell kits to make your own rocket engines using black powder.
RobertsGunsmithing
Amateur with a Guitar
You can have any powder shipped to your door. But it sure is cheaper when it's on the shelf. Hazmat by the pound is spendy at my door. Even in larger quantities! It will be much better when it hits the LGS.
Uncle Miltie
50 Cal.
There are places and situations where sensible folks cannot have powder shipped to their home.
RobertsGunsmithing
Amateur with a Guitar
My world is pretty small. I'm sure there are, but I'm not aware of any. And, thus far Oregon has not gone that communist. Yet!!!
Comfortably_Numb
The Evil Mike Brooks
I live in Iowa. I haven't seen real black powder in a gunshop in 30 years. Since I go to F ship a couple times a year I always make sure to get 10lbs or so. No hazmat there either. BUT, I'd gladly pay the hazmat fee instead of resorting to fake powder.
Daryl Crawford
50 Cal.
I'm not saying this as an attack or even a doubt on anything you've said, but I can hardly believe Iowa wouldn't have shops that cater to our style of hunting. I suppose the shops there might service modern weapons. Sorry you don't have a local shop to deal with.
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President of my club called Powder Inc and was told they would get Goex by April, no word on Olde Eynesford yet.
DixieTexian
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I wonder if we will see an improvement in the quality of powder. Since Estes has their own consumer products that use black powder, they have an incentive to make better quality powder. If I recall correctly, model rocket engines are regulated by the amount of propellant in them, and not the power output. So a better powder would give them more performance for the same amount of product.
Guys, I've been using the holy black and ahem (smokeless), for over 40 years. Time was 40 years back, you could find the holy black regularly on the shelves of your LGS. Fast forward to the present, with storage regulations, shipping issues, costs for inventory, and insurance, it's going to be a very, very rare thing for a LGS to stock black powder on their shelves. So if you're looking for it at a brick and mortar LGS near you, you're almost certain to be disappointed.
To continue to use real black powder, you have to deal with shipping OR, go to a source. There are a number of options to getting it shipped, join a NMLRA Charter Club, be friends with a reenactor group, or organize a group buy with like minded friends. Past that, if your travels take you near a location that is known to stock it, then by all means, make that stop, but quit whining about it NOT being on your LGS shelves cuz unless there's a sea change in regulations, it's not going to happen.
I shoot competition with the N-SSA. At the exit to our main range in Winchester VA, is Back Creek Gun Shop. They don't carry guns, and are an active farm if you look them up on the interwebs but, follow that road going into the pastures and you'll see a big powder magazine. Since BCGS is the main supplier for the N-SSA, I'd venture to say they're very likely to be one of, if not the, largest supplier of real black powder in the country for civilian use. They're large enough for the mucky muckys of Estes, Wano and Scheutzen to pay a personal visit last summer. If you doubt my assertion about powder consumption, reference this post, it covers only small arms competition and doesn't include artillery consumption of black powder or any regional consumption-
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/...ds-have-too-little-to-do.150091/#post-2129590
To continue to use real black powder, you have to deal with shipping OR, go to a source. There are a number of options to getting it shipped, join a NMLRA Charter Club, be friends with a reenactor group, or organize a group buy with like minded friends. Past that, if your travels take you near a location that is known to stock it, then by all means, make that stop, but quit whining about it NOT being on your LGS shelves cuz unless there's a sea change in regulations, it's not going to happen.
I shoot competition with the N-SSA. At the exit to our main range in Winchester VA, is Back Creek Gun Shop. They don't carry guns, and are an active farm if you look them up on the interwebs but, follow that road going into the pastures and you'll see a big powder magazine. Since BCGS is the main supplier for the N-SSA, I'd venture to say they're very likely to be one of, if not the, largest supplier of real black powder in the country for civilian use. They're large enough for the mucky muckys of Estes, Wano and Scheutzen to pay a personal visit last summer. If you doubt my assertion about powder consumption, reference this post, it covers only small arms competition and doesn't include artillery consumption of black powder or any regional consumption-
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/...ds-have-too-little-to-do.150091/#post-2129590
The owner of Back Creek Gun Shop has told me he is probably #4 on the list of the top 10 distributors in the country. Not only does he sell to the N-SSA he also supplies the powder to many of the large dealers all of you buy from. He also sell a lot of blasting powder to some of the quarries around here. They prefer it to dynamite because of the way it fractures the rock. I'll be having lunch with a group of skirmishers in a little over an hour and he'll be among them. If I remember (getting harder all the time) I'll try to get an update from him.
My hope is that Estes focuses on bringing 1 quality powder to the market instead of having a standard Goex vs Goex Olde Eynsford. I have shot both and have developed loads using both and Olde Eynsford was a better powder all around. On the other hand I did not get the same results using Swiss Caviar grade powder as standard Swiss shot much better and I ended up giving the Caviar Grade 3f away. Just hope they get up and running and produce a quality, affordable powder that they can produce in a sufficient quantity to meet shooters needs.
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